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Part
11 HALLOWED
BE THY NAME (continued)
“After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in
heaven, hallowed be Thy name...” (Mat. 6:9).
A name, in our modern usage, is a mere sign, badge, or title by
which we call a person — a means of identification. It has no
significance except to distinguish that person from everyone else. It does
not tell us anything about a man, except that he exists as a person and is
himself, not someone else. His character, his exploits, his attainments in
life, his history, are not contained in his name. It is a mere mark of
identity, and no more. But it was quite different in Bible days, and more
especially among the Semitic peoples. In the Old Testament there is
abundant evidence that names were looked upon as very sacred and pregnant
words.
There is not much meaning in our modern names. “Edgar” means a
javelin to protect property, though few Edgars own a javelin, and many of
them no real estate. “Irene” means peace, but I have personally known
Irenes who had little inner peace, they were often upset, frustrated and
miserable. As for our surnames, they have been so changed by the years
that they are now only a tag by which the mail carrier marks us off from
our neighbors. The name “Eby” is, we have reason to believe, an
ancient Celtic name, but previously was spelled Ebi or Ebee, and is now
sometimes spelled Ebe or Eaby — and who today knows what it could mean?
Most of our names originally came from one of four sources. A name may
have come from a characteristic that an individual had. He could run very
good, so he got the name Swift. He was sloppy, so he got the name Hoag. He
was shrewd, so he got the name Fox. Sometimes men got named by virtue of
where they lived. There was a fellow by the name of John and when somebody
was asking for him, and another person knew him, he said, “Oh, yes,
that’s John — he lives over the brook; so he got the name Overbrook.
Or there was a guy named George. “Oh, yes, we know him — he lives at
the water; so he became known in the course of time as George Atwater.
Sometimes we got named by virtue of our father’s name. You see, men did
not always have second names — that’s relatively recent in history.
There was a man by the name of John and he had a son. People said, “Oh,
yes, that’s John’s son, or that’s Ander’s son, or that’s
Robbin’s son,” so we got names like Johnson, Anderson and Robbinson.
At other times we got names by virtue of the trade in which men worked:
Cook, Taylor (tailor), Smith, etc.
Biblically, names had the concept of describing some characteristic
of an individual which set that individual apart from other individuals.
The idea of a name was to express as dramatically as possible the nature
or characteristic of the bearer. In this connection there can be no
separation whatsoever between a man’s name and what he is as a person.
Some are said to have a “name of integrity,” while others are declared
to have a “bad name.” In such instances “name” and “character”
are one and the same. In the Bible the innermost being of a man is
expressed in his name. Take Jacob, for instance. He starts life by holding
on to his brother’s heel to keep him from emerging first from their
mother’s womb. Then comes his opportunistic acquisition of his
brother’s birthright in exchange for a bowl of lentils; and then the
climax — deceiving his blind father Isaac to receive his blessing by
posing as the first-born Esau. Spurred on by his mother, who plots the
deception, Jacob is an all-too-willing participant. He dresses up in
goatskin so he will feel and smell like his brother, the hunter, and when
asked who he is he lies and says, “I am Esau, your first-born.” Even
though the old man appears to have some doubt, the ploy works, and Jacob
receives the blessing. This is why Esau declares of his conniving brother:
“Is he not rightly named Jacob (Supplanter, Schemer, Deceiver,
Trickster)? for he has supplanted me these two times” (Gen. 27:36). But
in later years, after wresting with the angel of the Lord he underwent a
change of attitude and an alteration of character that was accompanied by
a change of name. Having seen the “face” or nature of God he was no
longer the same man that he had been before his encounter with the Lord.
Since name and character are absolutely identical there had to be a change
in Jacob’s appellation. The angel of Yahweh, therefore, said, “Thy
name shall no more be called Jacob, but
“To him that overcometh will I give...a white stone, and in the
stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth
it” (Rev. 2:17). “Him that overcometh...I will write upon him the name
of my God, and the name of the city of my God...and I will write upon him
my new name” (Rev. 3:12). “And they shall see His face (nature); and
His name shall be in their foreheads” (Rev. 22:4). A new name bespeaks
of a change of nature in those He is dealing with. But God has also
revealed the various sides of His own nature and character through His
names. At the beginning of history God revealed Himself by the name Elohim,
the plural of Eloah meaning strength, might. This name reveals the
plurality in God, His many-sided wisdom, His diverse attributes, powers,
and abilities displayed like the colors of the spectrum through the unique
expression of each of His multitudinous offspring — His sons and
daughters, the body of Christ, the family of God, or the God-family. In
the name Elohim God has revealed Himself first as Creator and second as a
plural God.
Then when Abraham came along God revealed Himself as El Shaddai,
the almighty, the all-sufficient. El Shaddai means literally “the
breasted one” or “the one who has breasts.” We never thought of God
as having breasts, but He revealed Himself to Abraham in this way as the
nourisher, the One from whom he could suck and draw strength. This enabled
Abraham and Sarah to have Isaac when they were past age for having
children. Abraham was a hundred years old and Sarah was ninety when they
had their baby.
God later revealed Himself to Moses, not as Elohim, not as El
Shaddai, but He made Himself known to Moses as Yahweh, which generally is
pronounced in English as Jehovah. Yahweh was the lawgiver. Yahweh was a
stern God, the One who commands and says, “Do it, or you die.” Yahweh
was a warring God, the Lord of hosts (armies). Then, of course, when Jesus
came we have a combination of all these, for in Him dwelleth the fullness
of the Godhead bodily. Finally, after Jesus, comes all of us. The question
follows — Who are we going to reveal? THE NAME IS THE NATURE
The name of God is more than a group of syllables or a
configuration of letters of the alphabet. It is the meaning of the name
that is most truly the name. It is His nature and His character revealed
to us. The names of God reveal all that God IS, all that God HAS and all
that God can DO. So when we pray, “Hallowed be Thy name,” we ask that
our idea, our understanding of God’s nature, power and glory may be
purified and made more true; that we may be delivered from unworthy
conceptions and false notions of God, from superstitious beliefs and
folklore learned from religion; that there may be nothing in our thought
of Him and the living out of His life in us which shall cast any
reflection on Him, that is beneath His glorious and eternal reality; that
He may become more and more known to us and His nature loved by us and
fulfilled within us.
George Wylie wrote some years ago: “In His high priestly prayer,
recorded in John 17, twice the Son of God said that He had manifested and
declared the Father’s name unto those the Father had given Him. ‘I
have manifested Thy name unto the men which Thou gavest me out of the
world; Thine they were, and Thou gavest them to me; and they have kept Thy
word’ (Jn.
“I would like to quote these verses from some other translations.
Most translations, as well as the Aramaic and Greek, in which these
scriptures were originally written, say ‘name’ — but Goodspeed
renders it this way, ‘I have revealed your real self unto the men you
gave me from the world...I have made yourself known to them and will still
do so.’ Phillips says something similar, ‘I have shown yourself to the
men whom you gave me out of the world...I have made yourself known to them
and I will continue to do so that the love which you had for me may be in
their hearts.’ It would appear from these scriptures that there is some
connection between knowing the name of God and knowing God Himself, and
having His love in our hearts. I don’t think it was because the
disciples were ignorant of what God’s name was, that is, the form of His
name in letters. How could they be? For it was written in the Old
Testament scriptures thousands of times: so how could they not have known
what the name of God was? There must be a difference in knowing what the
name of God IS, and knowing His name. This may sound strange, but I will
try to explain.
“There are many things said about those who know the name of God.
For instance, ‘Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I
deliver him; I will set him on high because he hath KNOWN MY NAME’ (Ps.
91:14). Would this promise apply to all who merely knew what His name was?
The children of Israel all knew what God’s name was, but because of
their sins and iniquities they were cast down, chastised by the Lord, and
given over into the hands of their enemies to be tormented. But then God
spoke comfort to them, and told them the days of their chastisement were
over. By their sinful ways they had caused His name to be blasphemed among
the Pagans, but now God was going to exalt His name and His people would
know what His name really meant, when He had delivered them from their
bondage. ‘Yes, Yahweh says this: You were sold for nothing and you will
be redeemed without money. Yes, Yahweh says this: Once my people went down
to
“I will now quote a few more verses where God emphasized His
name. ‘Sing unto God, sing praises to His name, extol Him that rideth
upon the heavens by His name YAH, and rejoice before Him’ (Ps. 68:4).
YAH is the short form of Yahweh. The Hebrews did the same thing we do, we
shorten some names such as Joe for Joseph, Sue for Susan, Bev for
When it is said, “Some trust in chariots, and some in horses, but
we will remember the name of the Lord our God,” the meaning is not that
they will recall the letters or pronunciation of the word YAHWEH, but that
their confidence can be strengthened and maintained by reflecting upon
what God has taught and proven concerning Himself, which is also contained
in the meaning of His name. When it is said, “They that know Thy name
will put their trust in Thee,” it does not mean that those who know the
word YAHWEH will put their trust in Him, for multitudes have known that
name and have never walked in confidence in God; but whoever has that idea
of God that He Himself by His dealings and teachings has made known to us
in our lives, will trust in Him. This name we are not left to find out for
ourselves, for from the first it has been the care of God to spell out
Himself to us.
There are many names and descriptive titles of God in the
scriptures. He is called Counselor, King, Shepherd, Rock, Shield,
In I Samuel 18:30 we read, “Then the princes of the Philistines
went forth: and it came to pass, after they went forth, that David behaved
himself more wisely than all the servants of Saul; so that his name was
much set by.” They were not esteeming the letters in his name nor the
pronunciation of the name. They were not writing “DAVID” in large and
beautiful characters on some enormous banner and stretching it over the
main street of
“I will set him on high because he has known my name” (Ps.
91:14). To know His name is to become, in union with Him, the name-nature
of God in an every-hour, every-day reality. To know His name is to enter
into the pure inner life of God, and exude His nature, His life, His
character, being one with Him. To know means more than mere intellectual
understanding or carnal knowledge. It means intimate “union” as when
“Adam knew his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain” (Gen. 4:1).
Some people think because they use or pronounce El Elyon, Yahweh, or
Yahshua and all the others they have dug out of the concordance, that this
makes the use of these names magical, procures favor with God, or is a
mark of spirituality. People without a revelation from the Lord, or
participation in His life, are disposed to go back and use the
“letter” of that given to past generations of men of God. Let me quote
Psalm
“After this I will return, and build again the tabernacle of
David...that the residue of men might seek after the Lord, and all the
nations, upon whom my name is called, saith the Lord” (Acts 15”16-17).
The “name” here means a surname. That is the precise meaning of the
Greek word EPIKALEOMAI used in this passage. Correctly translated it says,
“That the residue of men might seek after the Lord, and all the nations,
upon whom my surname is called.” The nations have been surnamed! Surname
is from two Greek words, EPI and KALEO. EPI means “upon”, and KALEO
means “called”. EPI means identification, as in the laying on of hands
on or upon a person, designating them for some special purpose or
blessing. God has chosen to identify with us and bring us into
relationship with Himself and He has placed His name upon us — has
surnamed us. Surname, by definition, is “a family name as distinguished
from a given name; a last name.” God came and surnamed us, gave us His
family name. We have an altered name, indeed, a NEW NAME! God altered
Abram’s name, Sarai’s name, and Jacob’s name and they got a new
nature. It was only after Abram’s and Sarai’s name change that they
gave birth to Isaac, the promised seed. And it was only after Jacob’s
name change that he fathered Joseph and Benjamin. You won’t birth
nobility or kings or a “son of the right hand” until you get altered
— surnamed. I meet a lot of folks I would like to alter. You may have a
husband, a wife, children, boss, neighbor or mother-in-law you would like
to alter. And you are probably an expert on all the ways they need to be
altered! But I do not hesitate to tell you, precious friend of mine, that
only God can alter anyone — only God can call His name over a man,
woman, or child, only God can give a surname, a new name, a new nature.
The scripture declares that “the name of Yahweh is a strong
tower.” There are many precious revelations coming forth these days
concerning the names of God, and the depth of meaning therein. Some
immediately get caught up with an emphasis on the mechanics — the
spelling, syllables, and pronunciation of the names — dealing with the
outward or “letter” of the Word. But it is the “letter” that
killeth — that is, there is no life in those things. They strike no
chord deep in my spirit. In fact, they leave me somewhat cold and
uninspired. The “spirit” of the Word gives life. The spirit is the
substance, the reality of His nature that the outward name reveals. As Ray
Prinzing has so aptly written: “Of this we are certain, there is a walk
that is ‘not of the letter, but of the Spirit: for the letter killeth,
but the Spirit giveth LIFE’ (II Cor. 3:6). When certain truths are set
down as a doctrine, and one receives only the letter thereof, it does not
serve to gender life within, it only becomes one more burden to bear,
adding to the load of traditions and commandments. But when the Spirit of
God illumines the inner man, quickens the heart to receive that Word of
Life within, it is not some doctrine to contend for, but it is a LIFE TO
BE LIVED.”
Now listen — we have people today who will not call God anything
but Yahweh. There are other people who only call God Jehovah. We have
people today who refuse to call the Son of God Jesus, they call Him
Yahshua — and that is His name in Hebrew. But that is not what is
important. It is not important what the Hebrew form of a name is, or what
the Greek form of a name is, or what the English form of a name is.
Whether we say Petros, Pedro, Pierre or Peter — all these names are the
same name in different languages, have the same meaning, and point to the
same reality — a man whose character is that of a
If you know the nature of God and you become a partaker of that
divine nature, there is a safety built into your makeup because you have
run into or you have become identified with the name of God. A tower has
height, a tower carries you heavenward. A tower is not a military bunker
— if you run into a tower and climb the heights of that tower you are
lifted above all the dangers arrayed below. That’s what the name of the
Lord does for us. When we know that name, becoming partakers of that
nature, it elevates us in our outlook, perspective, understanding,
consciousness and state of being. It raises us up experientially into a
higher dimension. It lifts us to a higher level of faith, trust and
confidence, because we stand in His name. Knowing the word YAHWEH will not
do this for you, but knowing the nature of Yahweh will! I’m not
interested that you should learn the correct form and pronunciation —
whether it be, as various scholars argue, Yahweh, Yahveh, Yahvah, Yehovah,
Jehovah, or quite a number of other forms that are hyped as the
“correct” Hebrew form. The best known, Yahweh, is only one among many.
There is no value in wrangling over letters of the alphabet or ancient
vowel sounds. There is no purpose in it. There is no spirituality in it.
There is no profit in it. Our language is not Hebrew. I doubt if more than
one or two persons among the thousands who read these writings each month
actually speak Hebrew. There is no change of nature for you should you
learn it, and all the names of God in Hebrew. And yet we have men and
movements that place great emphasis upon names today — spelling them
correctly, pronouncing them right. To which I respond — “Who cares?”
That’s not important. Furthermore, it is natural, carnal, fleshly. What
is important is that you understand what the name stands for and partake
of the nature that the name stands for. “And they that know Thy name —
Thy nature — will put their trust in Thee.” You don’t learn this
name, this nature, from listening to sermons or reading printed messages.
Those things are profitable — for we must hear the truth. But we must
not only hear, we must receive a revelation of truth and follow on to
experience truth.
“For God will save
“Because he hath known my name, I will show him my salvation.”
Are you interested in knowing the name of God? When you truly come to the
name of the Lord, God will show you His salvation. The word for salvation
is YEHOSHUA. “My salvation” is “my Yehoshua.” Translated into
English “Yehoshua” is JESUS. “Because he hath known my name, I will
show him my Jesus.” When you know the nature of the Lord you will SEE
JESUS! Jesus is the salvation of the Lord. That is the meaning of His
name. He came in the nature and power of God’s salvation. He is the
mighty Deliverer. He is the mighty Saviour. That is His name. That is His
nature. Whether you call Him Jesus or Yahshua — until you meet Him as
the mighty Saviour you have missed His name altogether. Millions of people
repeat the name “Jesus” or “Yahshua” and yet know nothing of His
wonderful name — His nature. They know the pronunciation of His name in
a language, but they have never experienced Him in His name. YAHWEH
The name Yahweh is derived from the Hebrew verb HAVAH meaning “to
be,” or “being”. This word is almost exactly like the Hebrew verb
CHAVAH which means “to live” or “life”. One can readily see the
connection between being and life. Thus, Yahweh means “the self-existent
One” or “the eternal”. He is the One who in Himself possesses
essential life, permanent existence, derived from no source other than
Himself and absolutely dependent upon no other person or thing for its
continuance. Any being whose existence is dependent in any manner upon
another, or upon conditions such as food, light, air, etc., or even upon
some cosmic influence, is not SELF-EXISTENT. This quality inhered
originally in Yahweh alone, as it is written, “The Father hath life in
Himself” (Jn.
Anything that is absolutely eternal is not only unending, but is
also UNCHANGEABLE. Anything that changes in any way is not eternal, for in
the change some characteristic is left behind and a new one acquired. In
every change something ends and something else begins. That which dwells
in an eternal state knows NO CHANGE. Change is possible only in that which
is limited, imperfect, or undeveloped. Yahweh declares of Himself, “I am
Yahweh, I CHANGE NOT” (Mal. 3:6), and the inspired apostle says of Him,
“with Whom there is NO VARIABLENESS, neither shadow of turning” (James
The origin and meaning of the name Yahweh are especially brought
out in relation to
“I AM THAT I AM” is Yahweh revealing what His name means —
the UNCHANGE
Jesus made a statement that the first Adam, in all of his glory,
could never have made. He said, “For as the Father
From the incorruptible seed of Christ, placed in the womb of the
believing heart, comes forth that incorruptible New Creation which lives
and abides forever. When John said, “He that hath the Son hath life,”
he was speaking of that incorruptible life which Jesus is. When Jesus
said, “He that believeth on me shall never die,” He was not teaching
us merely of the possibility of extending our physical, Adamic existence
for another thousand years so we would not go to the grave. He meant that
He was planting an entirely NEW
How many of the Lord’s dear children understand not this one
simple but sublime truth — they have within them the SELF-EXISTENT
Baby Christians are believers who are always loaded down with
problems. They are always sick, discouraged, depressed, frustrated,
confused, offended, upset, worried, fearful, or... These are the ones who
take up ninety percent of the ministers’ time, strength and patience in
most groups. You must constantly be praying for them, encouraging them,
petting and pampering them, counseling them, delivering them, and lifting
them up. These you will see answering every altar-call, standing in every
prayer line, sitting in the chair in the center of the prayer circle, and
following after every meeting, ministry, prophet, healer, or teacher where
they may receive yet another “blessing” or “experience”. These
have the victory while everything is going good, when they are struck with
some ecstatic spiritual experience, or when they receive a word of
prophecy. But as soon as the “blessing” wears off they are so weak
they can’t make it without another spiritual “fix”.
What’s wrong with these folk? I will tell you! Their source of
life is ON THE OUTSIDE! Being babes, they are not aware that
all-sufficient, self-existent life dwells within them. They are unable to
appropriate that life for themselves. Their senses have not been exercised
to discern that HE THAT IS IN THEM IS GREATER than he that is in the
world. They have not yet developed to that place of maturity where they
know Christ as the substance of their inward life, their all-in-all,
sufficient to conquer every enemy and transcend every problem within and
without. And what a tragedy it is that so many preachers and churches keep
their people perpetually on this baby level of existence by restricting
their diet to “milk” and training their “babies” to always be need
conscious, acknowledging their faults and limitations, and looking to the
“pulpit” to be fed, encouraged, healed, delivered, pampered, taught
and blessed.
God is raising up a people in this hour who are coming to know that
they HAVE
What is the secret of these people’s victory? I will tell you!
THEY HAVE LIFE IN THEMSELVES! Only one who has life in himself can be an
overcomer. There was One who perfectly walked in this realm and He
overcame ALL THINGS. Upon Him rested the fullness of the Spirit of Yahweh,
the spirit of self-existent life. Can you imagine Jesus, on the road to
This is the life we now have in Christ and which Christ is within
us. Nothing brings greater joy to my heart than seeing members of
Christ’s body growing up into the “measure of the stature of the
fullness of Christ, growing up into Him in all things, which is the Head,
even Christ” that they “henceforth be no more children, tossed to and
fro, and carried about by every wind.” Oh, may the spirit of wisdom and
revelation illumine our minds, giving a mighty revelation of the glorious
and eternal reality of the CHRIST WITHIN! THE NATURE OF GOD IN THE ROYAL PRIESTHOOD
The name of the Son of God is Jesus. That is His complete name.
That is His correct name. That is His full name. The name of the eternal
Word of God who stepped across the stars to the planet earth to be born in
a stable in the
Since He would be the salvation of Yahweh unto His people, call Him
Saviour. Some of you are saying, “Now hold the fort, Eby; isn’t His
first name Lord and His last name Christ?” NO! Neither Lord nor Christ
is a name. It is important that we understand that. Christ is not a name.
Christ is a position. Christ is an office. Christ is a title, as also is
Lord. Christ is a description of an individual who holds a particular
office. If I were to say to you, “What is the name of the man who holds
the highest office in the
But ye shall be named the priests of the Lord: men shall call you
the ministers of our God...for as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as
the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth; so the
Lord will cause righteousness to spring forth before all nations” (Isa.
61:6,11). The inspired prophet summed up in one bold statement what it
means to be a priest of God. “Ye shall be NAMED the priests of the Lord:
men shall call you the ministers of our God.” There is marvelous
significance in that word “named”. Named! You shall be NAMED the
priests of the Lord. This passage forcefully reveals the great truth that
all who would be priests of God MUST UNDERGO A CHANGE OF NATURE, to become
priests by name, by nature, so that priesthood is not merely a title given
to them but a nature lived out through them. If our spiritual minds can
grasp the fact, to be NAMED the priests of the Lord means to be NATURED
the priests of the Lord, to so be imbued with the priestly nature until we
become a priest in our very state of being.
Jesus, when teaching His disciples in Matthew 5:38-48, said these
words, “Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a
tooth for a tooth.” In other words, give back to people exactly what you
receive from them. This is the way of the human nature. If someone blacks
your eye, then blacken his in return. This is what the human nature
desires to do. In a Sunday School class the teacher had been teaching on
the principles in the Sermon of the Mount, and she inquired of little
Johnny, “Johnny, what would you do if Tommy slapped you on the right
cheek?” He answered, “Teacher, I would turn the other one.” And then
as an afterthought he said, “But boy, if he hit that one, I would beat
the stuffing out of him!” This little fellow was just being true to his
human nature. Jesus went on to say, “But I say unto you, that ye resist
not evil; but whosoever shall smite you on the right cheek, turn to him
the other also. And if any man will sue you at the law, and take away thy
coat, let him have thy cloak also. And whosoever shall compel you to go
with him a mile, go with him twain. Give to him that asketh you, and from
him that would borrow of thee, turn him not away. Ye have heard that it
hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor and hate thine enemy. But I
say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to
them that hate you, and pray for them that despitefully use you and
persecute you.”
Ah, to act thus is contrary to human nature. The human nature wants
to retaliate in the way it has been treated. If someone loves us and is
gracious to us, we seek to requite their love and kindness; but if they
strike us, we want to strike back. If they curse us we return the same to
them. Jesus said, “It is easy to love those who love us, the publicans
and sinners do that.” But to love those who hate you and despitefully
use you, that is something else! To be able from the heart, by nature to
do those things that Jesus teaches us here is evidence of the possession
of the divine nature. Not to so act as one under law or compulsion; but to
so love and forgive and bless because it is within our nature to do this
— then we are getting somewhere in God! It requires a change of nature.
It is not natural to be a priest, it is not according to the human nature
to respond to the shortcomings, insults, injuries, sins and wretchedness
of men with understanding, compassion, mercy and redemption.
Jesus continued, “That ye may be the sons of your Father which is
in heaven; for He maketh His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and
sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.” You see, God makes no
difference; He is not a respecter of persons. He treats the evil man
exactly the same as He treats the good. He is as gracious and kind to the
hostile and belligerent as He is to the gentle and obedient. This is OUR
FATHER! And we are His sons, those who share His nature, who think as He
thinks and act as He acts. This is what it means to be named — NATURED
— the priests of the Lord! Let us note in passing, the Authorized
version says, “that ye may be the children of your Father in heaven.”
The Greek word here is HUIOS meaning “sons,” mature sons, not little
children. Mature sons are NATURED priests!
Paul Mueller adds these inspiring words: “When Moses came down
from the mount with the tables of the law, the people had turned to
idolatry. They made a golden calf and were worshipping that idol just like
the heathen. The Lord then told Moses that He would not go with them. But
Moses replied, ‘If Thy presence go not with me, carry us not up
thence.’ Moses continued to intercede for the people, so the Lord said,
‘I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the
name of the Lord before thee.” Did this mean that God would merely speak
His name in the language of man? No, it meant much more than that. Moses
was then called up into the mount to receive the second set of the tables
of the law. The Lord then descended in a cloud ‘and stood with him
there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. And the Lord passed by before
him, and proclaimed, Yahweh, the Lord God, merciful and gracious,
longsuffering and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for
thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by
no means clear the guilty’ (Ex. 34:5-7).
“Remember that the Hebrew word for ‘name’ implies ‘honor,
authority and character.’ Therefore, when the Lord proclaimed His name
to Moses, He was in fact imparting His authority and character to him. The
Lord proclaimed Himself as being ‘merciful and gracious, longsuffering
and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving
iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the
guilty.’
“These are characteristics of God that were imparted to Moses
when the Lord proclaimed His name to him. When the Lord declares that He
will proclaim His name to His chosen ones, He is in fact imparting His
character and authority. After the Lord visited Moses, He gave him this
solemn promise: ‘Behold, I make a covenant: before all thy people I will
do marvels, such as have not been done in all the earth, nor in any
nation: and all the people among which thou art shall see the work of the
Lord: for it is a terrible thing that I will do with thee’ (Ex. 34:10).
“The Lord’s promise to Moses was that He would do marvels,
‘such as have not been done in all the earth.’ The divine promise to
the remnant in this day has been given, ‘Behold I, and the children whom
the Lord hath given me are for signs and wonders’ (Isa.
“The Lord gives this promise to the overcomers: ‘I will write
upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is
New Jerusalem...and I will write upon him my new name’ (Rev. 3:12).
Realizing the awesome glory and power that was given to Moses by the Lord
when He proclaimed His name to him, we can well understand the
significance of ‘the name of my God’ which is to be written upon all
who overcome. It is certainly not merely the Hebrew name of the Lord, nor
is it a new spiritual name which some are now using. Rather, it is an
impartation of His authority and character. Let us clearly understand the
truth of God’s holy Word. When He proclaims or writes His name upon His
elect, He is in fact imparting to them His honor, His authority, His
characteristics and His power.
“When the prodigal son returned to father’s house, he was given
the best robe, shoes on his feet, and a ring on his finger (Lk.
“The Lord is declaring His name unto His brethren, who are the
sons of God. The fullness of all that He is, as represented in the robe,
the shoes, and the ring, shall be imparted to this remnant. He who spoke
forth as the thunder on mount Sinai, shaking the earth by His power, who
set the bush ablaze by His mighty presence, causing Moses to declare, ‘I
exceedingly fear and quake,’ is now being manifest in the greater glory
of mount Zion. At Sanai His voice shook the earth so that those who heard
it asked that He not speak to them again (Heb. [ENTER TEXT OF WRITING / SCRIERE HERE] |
Other Writings in This Series:
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